Beatrice crappie-catcher Kelly Pella says that, first of all, you need to be able to distinguish a true slab from an ordinary crappie. The 3-pound, 4-ounce specimen in her right hand would qualify as a slab anywhere! Photo courtesy of Dennis Pella.

Nebraska anglers who consistently catch big crappie must do a good job of scouting to find the Cornhusker State honeyholes for this popular panfish. Great Plains Game & Fish questioned a number of successful fishermen for the tips that follow.

The crappie ranks seventh or eighth in the number of Master Angler Awards issued by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission each year for trophy fish. Entered for an award in 2004, the most recent year for which information is available, were 85 slabs weighing at least 2 pounds or measuring at least 15 inches. In 2003 95 made the cut; in 2002, 90 awards were issued.

The largest entered late last year was an impressive 19-incher that weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces. It was caught in early July from a farm pond by Beatrice's Kelly Pella, who was using a yellow and white jig.

"My family" -- husband Dennis and sons Brandon and Bailey -- "loves to fish, and we go about every weekend," said Mrs. Pella. "We fish a number of ponds not too far from home. We also fish Wolf-Wildcat Lake near Virginia" -- a 42-acre natural resource district lake that offers crappie as well as bass, bluegills and catfish.

"I'm not much of an expert on tackle," continued Kelly. "I use an open-faced reel, and I think it's loaded with 10-pound-test line. I like it, and have caught a lot of fish with it. I like to fish with a jig for crappie, and my favorite color, of course, is yellow and white since I caught that big one using that color."

Nebraska doesn't offer a huge choice of crappie water. Private farm ponds and sandpit lakes account for the most fish. The best public waters for crappie in the southeast include Czechland, Pawnee, Branched Oak, Burchard, Wehrspann and Zorinsky lakes. In the northeast are three pretty good lakes: Willow Creek, Maskenthine and Grove.

The better ones in south-central Nebraska include Sherman County and the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's canal system and reservoirs. They include Midway, Gallagher Canyon and Plum Creek reservoirs.

A number of sandpit lakes along Interstate 80 offer some crappie fishing. The best of these has been the one at Mormon Island State Recreation Area south of Grand Island. Harlan County Reservoir has been an on-again, off-again crappie producer.

In north-central Nebraska, look to Calamus and Merritt reservoirs for some good crappie action. North Twin Lake, southeast of Bassett, and Big Alkali Lake, south of Valentine, have both produced quite a few slabs over the past few years.

Nebraska's Panhandle comes up a little short on crappie water. Its top three this year will likely be Box Butte, Whitney and Oliver reservoirs. In the southwest, Red Willow and Medicine Creek, along with Diamond Bar Lake, should offer some good crappie fishing. Diamond Bar, in the Sandhills west of Tryon has good numbers of fish in the 10- to maybe 15-inch class.